Tag Archive | crafting

Back to School

I’m going back to college! Okay, so it’s just one day-long course, but it’s a class and it’s at a college, so it counts. I’m taking a course in Microsoft Access Fundamentals, and it’s for work. Like they encouraged me to take it and paid for it, and I love that they’re eager and willing to support the growth of their members. And I’m kind of a nerd who likes learning new things so I’m looking forward to it a lot.

I have thought about going back to college though, maybe for a Communications or Marketing degree. Actually, what sounds the most intriguing is Graphic Design, and I could do that through a local community college. But with a college freshman, a high school sophomore, and a fixer upper with a big project looming, it’s not in the cards at the moment. Still, I’m keeping the idea in my pocket for when/if it becomes more feasible. Have any of you gone back to school as grownup? Is it scary? Overwhelming?

I do plan to have a project with me just in case I have some time to knit. Or maybe crochet! I have another hat commission, this one using some gorgeous silk yarn from Expression Fiber Arts. Color is Russian Blue.

That’s a Scat Mat it’s lying on, and yes, there’s my foot. Not all photos can be a masterpiece, you know!

New Socks

Oct17

My new sock project is a test knit called Paddington Station Socks for Ambrose Knits ( I found her on Instagram). She’s got several ones she’s working on, and they all look like fun to knit. I know I’m enjoying these!

The yarn is my new Knit Picks Stroll Hand-Painted in Train Station Tonal. I’m liking the colors and the yarn a lot! The yarn is soft and knits up thick on my size 1 needles, and the pattern has just enough variation to keep me interested. I’m eager to see a finished sock!

MORE Happy Mail!

Oct16

I really need to stop getting so many emails. They get me in trouble. For example, I get newsletters from Biscotte Yarns, often with free patterns. Well, 99% of the time I can resist, and I ooh and ahh and then quickly delete. But once in a blue moon, something calls my name, like this pattern for the Bargello Infinity Scarf, which you could get with the purchase of a skein of self-striping Bis-Sock yarn in a certain color. Except I didn’t like that color so of course I had to pick out a different color which meant I also had to pay for the pattern and I don’t really mind because this is going to be Awesome and I think I will wear the heck out of it.

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At least as soon as I have time to make it! I haven’t actually read the pattern yet but Ravelry says it uses intarsia, which scares me. But heck, I’ll give it a shot at least. Yarn is Bis-Sock in the color Charivari.

A Day of Knitting

Oct16

Okay, Sunday was pretty much the perfect day. I had no obligations, it was gray and rainy and chilly, so I spent the day in my pajamas, watching Harry Potter movies and knitting while the dogs hung out with me. Seriously, perfect. Plus the husband made no-bake cookies and sometimes even he and the boy sat with me. I got through three movies and worked on three projects. I started a new sock, a new hat, and a new cowl. The cowl was actually a mistake. See, I frogged a project that I didn’t love and never wore because I love the yarn and wanted it to be something better.

Isn’t this pretty yarn? It still wants to be a cowl, just one that’s shorter and not so loose. Anyway, I was putting this yarn back in the stash, in the bulky yarns where it belonged, and then I accidentally touched my Woolfolk Luft yarn and it was so soft and fluffy that I had to wind it immediately and cast on a new cowl. I chose one of my favorite patterns, River Deep Mountain High (Bulky version), and finished it today during my lunch break.

This yarn is amazing. It feels like a cloud, and I love how it’s this perfect shade of denim blue. I’m hoping to wear it tomorrow, and then we’ll see if it’s itchy at all. But I bet it won’t be!

Happy Mail

Oct14

Today was a good mail day: my KnitPicks order arrived!

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The Brava worsted (brown, tan, blue) is for hats I’ve been commissioned to make. I have four to make and each will have a different accent color; thankfully I already had some Brava in my stash for three of the hats (red, purple, gray) so I only need to order the blue. The black tonal Stroll Fingering is to test knit a sock pattern, and I’ll be casting them on today so they’ll make an appearance before too long, I’m sure. The multicolor Stroll is called Make Believe and it’s to make socks for me, which is why it’s getting set aside until I have more time. And that little pin was on sale for $3.99! How could I resist a purple sweater pin??

We had a football game last night, the boy’s last marching band game of the year, and it was disgustingly cold and windy and drizzly, but I still made good progress on my sock, and I managed to finish it at today’s band competition. The boy now has his first pair of handknit socks!

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Yarn is Seven Sisters Arts Meridian in the color Tangled Up in Blue and I have half a skein left to make some shortie socks for myself! The gray cuff is Knit Picks Stroll. I meant to do heels and toes too but forgot, and I don’t think he’ll mind too much. Hopefully he also doesn’t mind that one sock is longer than the other!

Tiny Dino

Oct11

I have a friend whose birthday is coming up soon, and I discovered they kind of like dinosaurs. Well. Challenge accepted. I found this cute free pattern for Bert the Dinosaur, pulled out the brown sock yarn I didn’t like for making socks, and cast on in the morning. It was really fiddly to work with six to ten stitches on DPNs, but once it got up to 20ish, it was manageable. And once it started to take shape, I was delighted. Stuffing the tail and neck were tricky, and don’t even ask about the teeny tiny legs! But OMG I’m so happy with my little dinosaur, I kind of want to make more!

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I didn’t exactly love knitting it, since it was so fiddly and tiny, but it went so fast that I could handle it. Roar!!

“Progress” on my Shawl

Oct10

I have been working on my Mermaid shawl for a few weeks now, sporadically. The last photo I shared was this one, though I’d made it a few more rows after taking this:

Now, please, allow me to show off the progress:

Isn’t it impressive? (heavy sarcasm there, you can hear it, I’m sure.) Sighhhh. I had just figured out how I wanted to split up the five colors, instead of using six like the pattern calls for, and on my next row I checked my stitch count and it was WAY off. Like more than 30 stitches too many. ARGH. My conclusion is that I cast on too many (maybe 462 instead of 426?) and there was no choice but to frog and start over. Silver lining: I was only 11 rows in and I feel confident in my stitch count this time. Should be smooth sailing now!

Review: Zen Yarn Garden

Oct6

What’s your favorite splurge yarn? Mine is now the Serenity line from Zen Yarn Garden! I got to test a 3-skein kit of Serenity 20 Fingering and OMG I’m in love!!

I made Stephen West’s Dotted Rays – Speckled Fade shawl. This was one of my favorite pieces ever to knit, and I think it will be a favorite to wear too.

ARGH it’s so gorgeous I can’t stand it! I really wanted the chevron edge, but I didn’t plan my yardage correctly and ran out too soon. I even had to use a bit of the creamy speckle for the i-cord bindoff when I ran out of the purple. And yet I don’t care a bit because it’s fabulous as is. I think most of you already know the brilliance that is Westknits, so I won’t spend too long on the pattern. It’s enough to say that I loved it and am already planning to make another.

But the yarn? The yarn I must tell you about! Serenity 20 is a fingering weight that’s 70% superwash superfine merino, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon. I don’t think I’ve ever knit with a cashmere blend before, so I had no idea what a decadent experience it is. Soft? Oh my yes! The yarn was lush and full and squishy, and every time I picked it up, my hands were so happy. This was what I picked up at night as my treat knitting, because the combination of relaxing garter stitch in such a yummy yarn pleased me so much. It wasn’t splitty at all and behaved nicely when I had to frog a bit. It might be handwash only but it’s worth it!

I love this color combination too. This is the Vivid Bundle, with Vivid OOAK, Vivid Splatter, and Scallions. They also offer the Jazzy Bundle with blues, grays, and cream. (Keep reading for a special discount code on these bundles!) But with all the gorgeous hand-dyed colors they offer, you could put together any number of combinations for the gradient and fade shawls that are all the rage right now.

The finished shawl is big and has a comforting heft to it. The size 4 needles I used made it dense enough to be warm but kept the fabric at a soft drape. I find myself reaching for it on those cool mornings when I’m up early with the dogs. I know I say I love a lot of yarn, and I always mean it when I say it, but this yarn truly is special. It’s luxurious and decadent and kind of represents everything I love most about knitting: cool people (like the husband and wife team who own ZYG), soft yarn, pretty colors, and finished pieces that are a joy to wear.

If you need some splurge-worthy yarn in your life, I’ve got good news: you can use the code BONNYKNITS to save 20% off either the Jazzy or Vivid bundle! Just click this little link here to start shopping. The code is good until 12/31/18, and they’re limited quantities, so don’t wait too long.

Many and most sincere thanks to Zen Yarn Garden and Stitchcraft Marketing who so generously provided 1 Vivid Kit ($91.80) for free. I received no other compensation for this review. All opinions and photos are my own.

Two hour cowl

Oct1

So I finished the sock on the plane ride here, and the girl was very happy with her new socks. Fortunately I planned for that and still had three other projects to work on. Yesterday on our way to Boulder, we made a spontaneous stop in Longmont to visit the Longmont Yarn Shoppe. And I’m so glad we did–the selection wasn’t vast but it was all marvelous. I had to work hard to restrain myself to two skeins.I also got a super cute pin for my collection.I tucked them into my suitcase and pulled out my mermaid shawl today and understood why knitters always pack extra projects: after two rows, my shawl was ready for color two. I didn’t have color two with me. So mermaid shawl went back in the suitcase and the girl took me to JoAnn so I could get some chunky needles to cast on my new super bulky Baah! Yarn.

While there, she announced she misses knitting and wants to make a scarf for one of her friends. Of course I’m happy to encourage that! When we got back to her dorm, we both cast on. After a couple of hours, I had an awesome new cowl. I’d forgotten the instant gratification from super bulky yarns! Now I want more! Yarn is Sequoia by Baah! and the pattern is because I’m happy, and it’s free, simple, and a breeze to make.

And now that it’s done I guess I’ll go back to my sock.

Hitchhiker photos

Sep21

I can’t believe I never shared any of the glamour shots of my Nerd Girl Yarns Hitchhiker! It’s such gorgeous yarn that I must rectify that immediately. Behold, this is Nerd Girl Yarns Mutiny in the color The Wise Build Bridges, inspired by Black Panther.

I adore NGY yarns. The colors are beautiful, they’re inspired by and named for clever nerdy themes, and yarn itself is top-notch. Plus it’s made by a small indie dyer who’s a badass chick, so of course I love supporting her.

The pattern is Hitchhiker Beyond by Martina Behm, and I like it better than the original, but that’s just me. This is what I knit for the NGY Hitchhiker KAL during July and August. It creates a longer, narrower shawl than the Hitchhiker, which I find easier to wear. And I also enjoy having the rows get shorter rather longer as I knit! Which Hitchhiker do you prefer?